Oh God, What Now?

Latest Episodes:

Tiers for Keirs Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

With Labour MPs rebelling over Keir Starmer’s planned cuts to welfare benefits – where does he stand now with his party and does even more trouble lie ahead? Plus, the UK’s new industrial strategy is hot off the press. What makes it so ambitious, and has it learned the lessons from Boris Johnson's failed levelling up plan?

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Seth recommends Gilbert and Sullivan’s Princess Ida

• Hannah recommends Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth and the new Adam Curtis series, Shifty

• Zoe recommends Olivia Rodrigo at Glastonbury

• Ros recommends The Four Seasons on Netflix

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Ros Taylor with Zoë Grünewald, Seth Thévoz and Hannah Fearn. Audio Production by: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Rivers of Bulls*it – Why is the modern right copying Enoch Powell? Jun 27, 2025

Show notes

Dog whistle think pieces seem to be back in fashion and right wingers are more frequently using rhetoric that sounds a bit like Enoch Powell. Powell was condemned for Rivers of Blood, why isn’t sounding like him so damaging for the modern right? Plus – AI and copyright. It’s put Labour at odds with Elton John, never a good place to be. Politico’s Joseph Bambridge joins the panel to talk through the furore.

Read Joseph’s piece in Politico: https://www.politico.eu/article/ai-copyright-political-nightmare-labour-uk-models-tech/

ESCAPE ROUTES

•  Rachel watched Virgin Island on Channel 4

• Raf has been reading Barbara Kingsolver novels

• Joseph watched The Contestant

• Dorian watched Black Ops

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Rafael Behr and Rachel Cunliffe. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio. Production by: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Oh God, Not Now! – War in Iran and a Brexit anniversary Jun 24, 2025

Show notes

Happy Dan Hannan Day! We “celebrate” nine years of Desperate Dan’s infamous Brexit prediction. Plus, War in and/or on Iran. Whatever happened to “America First”? Does Britain have any influence on Trump in this? And would Tony Blair have joined in America military action? And… this terrible, terrible heat. As the 1.5 degree limit looks increasingly fanciful, is living in a sweaty Britain the best we can hope for?

Charlotte Nichols MP of Warrington North is our special guest.

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Zoe recommends Shock And War: Iraq 20 Years On on BBC Sounds and Sirens on Netflix.

• Marie recommends Hacks on Amazon Prime.

• Charlotte recommends Everything Must Go by our own Dorian Lynskey and On The Calculation Of Volume by Solvej Balle.

• Ros recommends Lionessheart: The Life and Times of Joanna Plantagenet by Catherine Hanley.

• Back us on Patreon for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more.

Presented by Ros Taylor with Marie le Conte and Zoe Grünewald. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Dawn of the Dread – Ten years of Trump Jun 20, 2025

Show notes

Trump came down that golden escalator ten years ago this week, and thus began America’s descent to the depths of madness. The gang looks back on his political journey, from launching into the GOP race from Trump Tower to whatever you’d describe where we are now. Plus, Reform UK won loads of council seats – and now it actually has to take charge of things. So, how’s that going? (We promise we say more than just bad.) Then in the Extra Bit for supporters – can we ever be as happy as Finland? And what does that even mean?

• Listen to The Bunker including Andrew’s interview with Peter Ricketts.

ESCAPE ROUTES

•  Matt went to see The Ballad of Wallis Island at the cinema

• Zoe went to Primavera in Barcelona – and she says to watch Chappell Roan’s set online if you can!

• Raf went to see Showstopper!

• Dorian suggests Decoder Ring

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Rafael Behr, Zoe Grunewald and Matt Green. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio. Production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Cornershop Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Trump parade – The empire strikes out Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

Tanks for nothing… We look at the contrast between Trump’s pathetic North Korean-style self-celebration, the magnificent #NoKings protests, and the horror of the Minnesota assassinations. Plus, Starmer flips on a grooming gangs inquiry and the violence in Ballymena. And we grill special guest Chris Curtis MP on Labour’s housing plans and why Paul Weller was wrong about Milton Keynes.

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Hannah recommends Pulp live and their new album More.

• Jonn recommends Our Friends In The North, no longer on iPlayer but on Apple TV+ instead.

• Chris recommends baffling 2010s series Lost on Netflix.

• Andrew recommends East German hit woman comedy-thriller Kleo also on Netflix.

• Back us on Patreon for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more.

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Jonn Elledge and Hannah Fearn. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk

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Hey, mid spender! Jun 13, 2025

Show notes

Rachel Reeves’ spending review is out – what’s in it and what do the panel think should have got more attention? Plus, Reform UK wants to bring the DOGE mentality to Britain. We explain why that’s a terrible idea. Author of Failed State and the indispensable Comment is Freed substack Sam Freedman joins the panel. And in the Extra Bit for subscribers, as the Millennium Bridge turns 25, what has Britain built in the first quarter of the 21st century and what does it say about us?

• Listen to the latest Why? With Emma Kennedy: What is scrolling doing to our brains?

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Sam Freedman has been bingeing on The Big Bang Theory on Channel4.com.

• Ros recommends Series 2 of The Gold on BBC iPlayer.

• Jonn recommends Microserfs by Douglas Coupland.

• Dorian recommends Platonic featuring Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne on Apple TV+.

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Ros Taylor and Jonn Elledge. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Video Production by Chris Jones. Music by Cornershop. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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The Battle of the B*stards Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

The world is watching in horror as Los Angeles turns into a real-life immersive Rage Against The Machine song. Is the President looking for a Reichstag to set on fire as he threatens to use US troops on US citizens? Plus, the Battle of the Bastards! First, what does Trump’s mega fallout with Musk tell us about the realities of far right politics… if anything? Then, what’s behind Zia Yusuf’s on-off resignation from Reform UK?

Escape Routes

• Raf recommends Maybe I’m Amazed by John Harris.

• Alison recommends Scarface (1983) directed by Brian de Palma.

• Matt recommends Your Friends And Neighbours with John Hamm and The Studio with Seth Rogan on Apple TV+.

• Andrew recommends All Asimov And No Fresh Air by Half Man Half Biscuit.

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Alison Phillips, Rafael Behr, and Matt Green. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Video Production by Chris Jones. Music by Cornershop. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Burnham down the house – Is Starmer really under threat? Jun 06, 2025

Show notes

Seems like King in the North Andy Burnham fancies his chances of taking over Labour and giving the troubled government new direction. Is talk of a leadership fight just pot-stirring – or is Starmer in real trouble? And who else is in the frame? Plus, that video where maverick crimefighter Robert Jenrick chases faredodgers was roundly mocked. But is it smart politics in the Tories’ battle with Reform over the soul of Pissed-Off Britain? And in the Extra Bit for Patreon people, we read Sarah Vine’s Westminster tell-all so you don’t have to.

• Don’t miss the latest Crime Scene: Should Britain decriminalise cannabis?

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Rachel recommends Giant with John Lithgow at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

• Jonn recommends Murderbot by on Apple TV+.

• Marie recommends Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson.

• Alison recommends Fred And Rose: A British Horror Story on Netflix.

• Back us on Patreon for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more.

Presented by Alison Phillips with Rachel Cunliffe, Jonn Elledge and Marie le Conte. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk

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Vote of the Living Dead – Why British politics is ruled from beyond the grave Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

He’s old, he’s reactionary, he’s authoritarian-curious, he hates the EU… and he’s dead. Why are the main parties fixated on the demands of a zombie voter who has gone to join the Choir Eternal? And at the other end of the scale, what about “Henry” – high earner, not rich yet – the urban go-getter with an “email job” who earns six figures yet somehow finds himself strapped? Duncan Robinson who writes The Economist’s Bagehot column identified both these phenomena. He joins us to debate what we do about the Walking Dead – and whether Henry deserves a helping hand or a teeny-tiny violin.

• Who should replace Keir Starmer? Find out on the latest edition of The Bunker.

• Hannah on Who even votes Tory any more?

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Duncan recommends the Screen Rot podcast.

• Hannah recommends Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs by our own Miranda Sawyer.

• Seth recommends The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

• Andrew recommends Thunderbolts, coming soon to Disney+ .

• Back us on Patreon for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more.

Written and presented by Andrew Harrison with Hannah Fearn and Seth Thévoz. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk

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So long, Elon Musk – Molly Jong-Fast talks to American Friction May 30, 2025

Show notes

Special crossover edition... Well, Elon Musk is putting Washington behind him – or so he says… Molly Jong-Fast joined American Friction to talk Chris and Jarv through what’s going on – and we thought you might want to listen too! Go get more American Friction and listen to the whole episode at: https://linktr.ee/americanfriction

Molly also has a new book out called How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir, and there’s a link to buy it below.)

Buy How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund American Friction by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Chris Jones and Jacob Jarvis. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio. Production by: Chris Jones. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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